


changes.

by orphan_account



Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, Minor Blake/Hayley, Some slightly awkward StepMom Ellie to justify the Ellick lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-06 18:52:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17945189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: max, nick, and making up for lost time.tag to 16x15. fluffy and fast family ellick! :)





	changes.

Nick was standing in front of the mirror; adjusting his tie again and again. No matter what he did, the navy blue bow tie just didn't look right, its' crookedness especially obvious against his crisp; gray dress shirt.

He cursed as the tie came apart in his hands.

"Seriously? Come on-"

"Nick?", Ellie asked, knocking on the bathroom door before finally pushing it open. "C'mon, you've been in here for- wait, you're already dressed? We have to go- we're going to be late if we don't leave in the next ten minutes."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah- I know. Don't remind me, we're about to become those people."

"Nick- ugh, let me just help you out with that-", she said, snaking in between the door and his body, her fingers deftly knotting the center of his tie. She was dressed in a far more casual navy and white striped dress, a gray scarf hanging loosely around her shoulders. The camera Kasie had let her borrow from the lab for the occasion was hanging around her neck, awkwardly bumping against Nick's back. Nick had been the one who wanted to wear a suit; and she'd called him silly for it.

They were going to a high school graduation at the beginning of a particularly warm spring on the east coast. He would be dying in his expensive three piece suit, and doubtlessly uncomfortable in a pair of barely-used, patent leather dress shoes, but Ellie had eventually relented only when he mentioned how important it was to Max that he showed up in a suit.

Their relationship was still one that she had trouble wrapping her head around- Nick hated teenagers and spent a good portion of his mornings laughing at whatever the teens of America got up to on instagram; but somehow, Max was the exception to all of that.

He had made sure to stay in Max's life even after his mentorship period had ended, and Ellie found more and more of the time she spent with her partner including the teenage boy, too. Nick had even let Max borrow his Jeep to pick up his girlfriend on Prom Night, spending the weekend at Ellie's flicking through his phone and excitedly showing her pictures of the two of them; at the gym, at the diner, at Max's football games and a particularly interesting picture of Gibbs smiling proudly with his arm wrapped around Max, who held his acceptance letter for the US Air Force Academy up in front of them for the camera to focus on.

It seemed that Max helped Nick as much as the other way around; and Ellie couldn't deny there was something certainly appealing about seeing that side of him- the side that was such a caring, natural father.

But- he was about to become a disappointing surrogate dad if they didn't get a move on- and she told him as much as she took his wrist and dragged him towards the door, letting his laughing protests fade as they got on the road. They still had to pick up Blake and Hayley, whose schools had let out several weeks before. Nick hadn't stayed close enough to them to show up to their graduations, but they had quickly become Max's closest friends- perhaps the first friends that he'd had the courage to let in behind his bristly exterior in a long time- and wouldn't have missed his graduation for the world. Ellie and Nick found them sitting on the curb outside of Hayley's house, Blake's suspenders hanging loose around his waist as Hayley's head rested on his broad chest.

"How do these kids get all the action?", Nick chuckled, as Ellie shook her head.

"You're just jealous they're in love.", she teased, hoking the horn and causing the two to jump up in unison. They were so in sync, that even if they hadn't been dating, something would have brought them together eventually, Nick thought. Bonds like that didn't just go unnoticed by the universe.

"Oh my God- we totally didn't see you- oh my God. How long have you been there?", Blake sputtered as he and Hayley climbed into the backseat. He pulled his suspender straps over his shoulders, and blew his bangs out of his eyes.

"You can't just ask that-", Hayley groaned, placing her hand over his thigh. "- Just assume they saw everything."

"All that and more.", Nick teased, relishing their horrified looks in the rearview mirror.

"Let's just hope you guys left over some of that smolder for the pictures later!"

-

Max had spent most of the summer with Nick at the gym, getting his fitness levels up to the highest standard he possibly could before he shipped off to the Academy; although shipped off wasn't quite the right term. Technically, he would only be a few blocks away from home- able to see the apartment he had lived in with his mother for most of his childhood if he really wanted to; and Nick and Ellie could drop in to visit him practically whenever they wanted. Still, none of them had been quite prepared to see him in his uniform, his bags packed in the back of Ellie's truck as they drove to the Academy on the morning he was to report to his commanding officer.

His thick, dark hair had been shorn off underneath his airman's cap, and his uniform's collar was starched to ruler-straight perfection. Still, Nick could see the same fearful, skittish anger behind his usually bright eyes, as the three of them began to unload his things.

"Your dad would be so proud of you.", Ellie said, nodding towards Max as he hitched a backpack on, making Nick inwardly cringe. Sure, she was trying her best- but could she have said anything worse? Max's sharp, quiet glare, trained towards the ground, seemed to say it all.

Sighing, he jogged to catch up with the boy. "Hey- hey, man.", Nick called out, grabbing him by the shoulder. 

"What?", Max snapped, whipping around to face him. 

"Hey-", Nick held up his hands in mock surrender, "-I just wanted to see you one last time before you become, like some kind of badass special forces dude. You're gonna be so ripped when you come back." 

Max cracked a tiny grin. "Yeah, I guess." 

"Yeah, you will. Listen- I know you're gonna have the time of your life in there, but if you ever need anything- even if it's something little, like commissary money, you know where me and Ellie are at. Give your Mom a call when you can. And uh- don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay?" 

"Hey, I'm trying not to get court-martialed here! If I want out, I'll go AWOL and move to Canada.", Max quipped, his wits still sharp as ever. 

"Man, not Canada. There's like, crazy zombie moose up there!" 

"Free health care and legal weed, too." 

Nick shook his head, clapping his hand on Max's shoulder. He held out his hand, meeting Max's in a firm handshake. 

"Good Luck and fair skies, Airman Girard.", he said, imbuing the words with as much of the pride and gratification he had so craved when he had been Max's age. 

"I won't need luck, Agent Torres. But thanks, anyway. Thanks for everything." 

-

Max didn't visit in those first few months, even though he facetimed and sent e-mails to Nick practically every day.

"I don't get it- he could just, walk over here if he really wanted to see you.", Ellie remarked, after Nick had signed off a call where Max and his bunkmates were chugging energy drinks while doing headstands, and at a rather alarming speed. 

"Yeah- but you know, it's the first time he's really been away from home. I figure, let him enjoy himself. Besides, Christmas is coming up, we'll see him then." 

"We? Hmm, if I recall correctly, I do have my own family I need to see...they miss me, too, you know.", Ellie teased. She and Nick's relationship was still new, at least enough to be exciting, though their years as partners had thankfully gotten them over the awkward phase that first came with putting the official label on a relationship. 

"As if I wouldn't have all fifty Bishops over in my itty-bitty top-floor apartment for three nights in the worst travel season of the year. Tickets are booked, babe- hope you don't mind sharing a room with Robbie and his latest girlfriend."

Ellie's eyes widened in surprise- "What, for real?" 

"Yes, babe.", Nick said, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head. "We are gonna have a kick-ass Christmas." 

Several weeks later, kick-ass was definitely one word for it. More like, the weather was kicking their collective asses, and Ellie was standing beside their Christmas tree, arms crossed with several boxes of decorations at her feet. Of course, her family's flights were delayed, Lucia and Amanda were snowed in and wouldn't be able to even reach their garage until the next day, and Nick was camped out at the airport, anxiously sending her updates of the arrivals board. 

So when she heard Nick's doorbell ring, she huffed, and shuffled to the door in her pyjamas and fuzzy slippers, expecting one of their friends- Jimmy or McGee perhaps, to be standing their with their little families bundled up against the cold. 

Instead, there was Max, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of a puffy winter jacket, his dark eyes rimmed with red. He hardly waited for her to open the door before he stomped past, throwing himself on the sofa with his boots still on. 

"Where's Nick?", he seethed, shooting a brooding glance up at Ellie. Clearly, the Air Force had done little to quell his attitude, or else- something had made him incredibly angry. 

"At the airport, picking up- He's picking up my family. I don't think he's going to be back tonight, but you can-", Ellie paused, trying not to shake her head at the puddles of melting snow all over her boyfriend's entryway. "-you can stay here, of course. Want something to eat?" 

"No."

"Okay- well, TV's all yours, I'm just going to check on the pizza.", she said, making a quick exit to the kitchen, where she shot off a quick text to Nick. What exactly was she supposed to do, stuck alone in a snowstorm with his raging surrogate son? There wasn't a response after several minutes, and Ellie hoped that was either because he was helping with luggage, or already on the road.

She came back into the living room, only to find Max with his head in his hands, the soft sounds of sobs coming from his broad shoulders. 

"Max? Are you- is there something I can do to help?", she asked, as gently as she could, settling down beside him on the couch cushions. Nick had told her to take it slow with him; not to push unless he was ready. 

"Not unless you can-" he paused to draw a shuddering breath. "- I was so stupid. If I- if I wasn't so messed up to start with I would have known she was cheating on me." 

Ellie nodded slowly. "Been there, done that.", she quipped, shaking her head as she caught a glimpse of a couple of the ornaments that had been from her and Jake's collection, still hanging proudly on the tree. They were too nice to throw out, and besides; it wasn't like he had ever been the one who did the decorating. 

"No- don't try to tell me you get it 'cause- who the hell would cheat on someone like you who has it all together?" 

"Well...I didn't have it all together. But even then- it was his choice. Just like, this is her choice. And blaming yourself for what other people do is- a slippery slope to just feeling like you must be the worst person in the world.", she told him, edging closer to the boy. 

"What if I actually am?", Max laughed harshly, making Ellie's heart twist slightly in sympathy. 

"The worst person in the world? No way, that'll be Nick if he conveniently forgets one of my brothers at the airport."

Max seemed to calm slightly, wiping at his cheeks with the sleeves of his jacket. "So you and Agent Torres, huh?" 

"Uh-huh." 

"Is- I'm- I mean, does he make you happy? Do you guys both make each other happy?", Max asked her, in between his sniffles. 

"You know what, Max? We really do. I hope that doesn't sound too corny and gross for you." 

"Nah. That's good. But uh- you know he steals your t-shirts, right?

Ellie fixed him with a puzzled look. "He- what?" 

Max's arm had snaked around her shoulder, where she could feel his fingers flick up the tag in her shirt. 

"Women's size small! Knew it!"

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Nick Torres gave me too many feelings last night and he should not be aLLowEd. 
> 
> I'm definitely going to write more than this tag in the universe where Max, Nick and Ellie are a lil family, don't worry!


End file.
